Record Number Of Text Messages Sent On New Year’s Day

The number of text messages sent in one day reached an all time high on New Year’s Day with people across the country sending 111 million seasonal SMS messages to friends and relatives.

According to the latest figures from the Mobile Data Association, the number of text messages sent between midnight on 31 December and midnight on 1 January was nearly twice the daily average for 2003.

The figure also represents an 8% increase New Year’s Day last year, when 102 million person to person text messages were sent across the UK’s GSM network operators, which include O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone.

Commenting on the figures, Mike Short, chairman of the MDA, said: “The large amount of text messages sent at New Year confirms that most people see text messaging as a warm, personal and cost-effective way to greet their friends and loved ones on special occasions.”

He added: “The use of text is also expanding into picture messaging as people explore the range of mobile messaging services that are becoming available.”

Figures from the MDA also show that almost 60 million text messages were sent each day during November. The monthly total was boosted by a huge increase in SMS traffic during the Rugby World Cup final, when more than 70 million messages were sent in one day (see World Cup Helps Text Messaging Surge In November).

Mobile Data Association: 01922 419600 www.mda-mobiledata.org

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